The present invention relates generally to display units used by retailers or merchandisers to exhibit products for sale. More specifically, the present invention is directed to display units made of a foldable sheet material that include an integrated pallet structure that can be assembled easily.
The attractiveness and general qualities of a display can have a direct effect on the sales of a displayed product. Various types of display units have been utilized in the market. Specifically, display units made out of foldable sheet material (e.g., double-faced corrugated fiberboard) have been utilized because of their of light weight, easy assembly, attractiveness, ability to display printed promotional material, and recyclability. Traditionally, these foldable material display units require the use of an additional wooden pallet placed underneath the display to allow transport of the display and the products using a forklift, pallet jack, or handcart. These wooden pallets often must be custom made, add additional cost to the display, and are generally considered unattractive. Additionally, wooden pallets are generally hard to recycle and produce disposal problems.
In the past, attempts have been made to build pallets of corrugated cardboard. However, these pallets have been difficult to assemble and have had to be preassembled at the factory. As a result, these pallets have been bulky, inconvenient and expensive to ship to customers. Another deficiency found with such prior art pallets is their tendency to absorb moisture, especially from liquids on the ground, and to wick this moisture into the structure of the pallet, thus severely weakening the pallet. For these and other reasons, traditional corrugated cardboard pallet designs have not proved be cost-effective in comparison to custom-made wood pallets.
Accordingly, the present invention offers a novel, durable and sturdy display unit design that includes an integrated supporting pallet. This pallet is designed to support the weight of the displayed products, allow transport by a forklift or pallet jack, and attractively display the products. In addition, the present design eliminates all exposed vertically oriented raw flute edges in the foot area, thus resisting water wicking and structural weakening. The present design is easy to assemble and does not require any special assembly tools, thus allowing the displays to be shipped flat to the customer. This ability to be shipped flat, coupled with an efficient design, allows the present design to be extremely cost-effective in comparison to custom-built wood pallets.